With an unexpected participation by a population that had already staged massive protests in March against the rise in costs and fuel, the blockade of roads has been one of the measures of pressure by protesters in southern Peru since the beginning of the crisis in December; however, it has caused consequences whose real impact will have to be assessed in the final balance of the campaign, for one of the most important economic sectors in Peru, the agro-exporter.
With a perhaps unforeseen level of participation on the part of a population that, already in March, staged massive protests against rising costs and the fuel crisis, roads have been blocked to protest against the Executive's intention to maintain an undemocratically elected government. The actual impact of the protests will have to be assessed in the final balance of the agro-export sector's campaign, this being one of Peru's most important economic sectors.
"The biggest blockades are being reported in the south of the country, and have been affecting important products whose campaigns are currently in full swing, such as table grapes, but, fortunately, the roads of the main agro-industrial areas have been unblocked in recent days. In just two days after the roads were unblocked on January 30, more than 12 million kilos of grapes that were waiting to be transported to international markets left Ica," says Christian Pereda, of the Spanish importing company Euroandes.
"The situation is much better in the blueberry sector. When the roadblocks started, 82% of the volume had already been exported. However, 79% of the fields are in the northern part of the country, where there have been fewer protests."
"Although the impact has been much more limited, compared to that of table grapes, in November and December there were big strikes that took a toll on the blueberry industry in weeks 47 and 51, in which there was a clear adjustment of the volumes available for export."
"It is no secret to anyone that this has been a difficult season in terms of prices. While it is true that they were quite good in September, in October there was a considerable concentration of volumes that caused the price of blueberries to be under pressure until November, and to this we must add the high shipping rates. However, we finally had a respite in December."
The fact is that the blueberry industry in Peru has continued (and continues) to grow, and despite the country being the largest global exporter of this berry, considerable increases continue to be recorded. In fact, according to data shared by the Agrodata Peru portal, Peruvian blueberry shipments grew by 32% in 2022, although the FOB value apparently increased by only 25%, registering a 5% year-on-year drop in their average price. This was most notable in the last quarter, when the price stood below 4.80 dollars FOB.
"In our case, at Euroandes we have worked with the right partners, and we have kept a very close eye on the market and on the situation that we could see coming. Communication has been decisive, we have been able to move quickly, always seeking to ensure the best possible returns for the producer and the sustainability of the operation. Our management has allowed us to make a difference in a difficult campaign," said Christian.
"In addition to blueberries, we also work with asparagus, avocados, mangoes and table grapes. We are already finishing the table grape campaign in the northern zone and we will continue with the mango and blueberry one from Morocco, in which we are currently involved."
For more information:
EUROANDES
Christian Pereda, commercial director
Tel.: +34 657 21 71 29
[email protected]